Our Living History

In my last entry, I introduced you to living museums. They encourage the preservation of objects of the present and past- for the future. It’s encouraging to think that artists don’t have to die before they are recognized or that buildings don’t have to be destroyed before their worth is acknowledged.

When I was seven, I lived in an ugly little house that I was more than excited to move out of. A few years ago, I drove by it just to find out that it had been demolished (Yes, that is how awful it was) and some office building stood in its place. To my surprise, I was sad. Any memory that I had made there was now entirely part of the past. There would be no way to trace back and show the physical location of where I first climbed a tree or where I first grew a sunflower.

My point is that I recognize the importance of living museums and of preserving the marvels around us. Andrew Reeves states, “Museums are redefining their role with active input from the community at large. As such, they become reflections of diversity, and often, places of cultural reconciliation.” They are beginning “to deal with living communities rather than contained collections, to address issues of future partnerships as opposed to past orthodoxies.”

What would you choose as your living history?

“We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world- or to make it the last.” By JFK